Shoulder rest for violins



Sept, 19, 1950 E. M. GOLDBERGER 2,522,944

SHOULDER REST FOR VIOLINS Filed Dec. 21, 1948 FIG.&

H INVENTOR. ERNO MEIR COLDBERGER ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 19, 1950 SHOULDER BEST FOR VIOLINS Ernii Meir Goldb'erger, Givat Rambam, near Tel' Aviv, Israel 1 Application December. 21, 1948,:SerialNo. 6,429 In GreatBritain February 19,-19485.

4 Claims.

1 This invention relates to shoulder rests for violins of the kind'comprising a fiat arcuate or substantially scythe-shaped strip of a relatively rigid material with raised bearing members 'on'the transverse ends, and means for'fixing'the shoul der rest to ;the.yiolin ina position 'invwhich the strip extends below the backof the violin round theleft-hand bottom corner thereof and said bearingmembers bear on thebaek of the instrue.

ment. The invention is more particularly concerned with the arrangement of said fixing means.

In a certain known shoulder rest of this kind, said fixing means consist in a screw-threaded sleeve at each end of the shoulder rest, similar to the means usually employed for the attaching of the chin rest. With these fixing means, mounting and dismounting of the shoulder rest is a lengthy and delicate operation which takes too much time to be performed each time the violin is put into or taken out of the case so that the shoulder rest would have to be left on the violin as a permanent fixture in the same manner as the chin rest. This, however, would require special violin cases as the usual cases are not spacious enough for accommodating the instrument with the shoulder rest mounted thereon. These known shoulder rests have not, therefore, found their way into general use. They have the further drawback that the upper ends of the attaching means bear on the belly of the violin so that the latter is clamped between the bearing cheeks and attaching means, which impedes the acoustic vibrations.

In another known shoulder rest, which is the one mostly used in practice so far, a rubber loop is attached to the flat strip of the shoulder rest about in its middle and is hung on the rear corner of the right-hand bout. This arrangement, however, provides a precarious attachment only and the shoulder rest is apt to fall off of its own accord, apart from the rapid deterioration of th( rubber which deprives it of the necessary elas= ticity. It has also happened sometimes that the rubber loop has broken off the bout corner.

The present invention consists in a shouldei rest of the kind referred to, comprising a flat arcuate or substantially scythe-shaped strip of a relatively rigid material provided with raised bearing members in the corners of its transverse ends, and with flexible, resilient clamping fingers on said transverse ends between the bearing members, said fingers being adapted by their resilience to grip the side of the violin.

This arrangement of the attaching means pro- Lil vides a secure hold "offtheshoulder. rest onv the violin without. contact of any kindlwith the belly.

The. invention is illustrated, by way of example only, in. theaccompanying drawings in. which:

Fig'sal and 2 are a side. elevation andtopplan view respectively of, a shoulder rest. accordingto i the invention;

Figs. 3 vand 4 show, inside and .backleleva-v "tion a violin with such shoulder rest mounted thereon.

The shoulder rest here illustrated by way of example consists of a flat strip I whose longitudinal sides are curved so as to give the strip a substantially scythe-shaped outline, as known per se. The strip is made from a material, preferably slightly flexible and resilient, such as steel, aluminium or the like. Formed integral with the strip are the raised bearing members 2 in the corners of the strip, being each an in wardly bent finger whose end has a soft lining 5 consisting, for example, of rubber. Two clamping fingers 3 are secured to either transverse end of the strip I between said bearing members 2. These fingers may be made, for example, from resilient metal bands, e. g. steel. Their free ends are provided with pads or linings 4 of a, soft material, e. g. rubber. The fingers 3 are also bent inwardly, but to such an extent only that the soft end portion of each. finger 3 can apply itself with gentle resilient pressure to the side of the violin, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. The exposed metal portions of the bearing members 2 and clamping fingers 3 may be sheathed with a plastic film or similar material.

A pad or cushion 6 is fixed to the bottom face of the arcuate strip I. This may be constituted, for example, by a core of wood lined with velvet or any other suitable fabric and adapted to be secured to the arcuate strip by screws '1. A set of pads of different thickness may be supplied for every shoulder rest to suit various conditions of use of the latter.

The shoulder rest is mounted on the violin by placing the bearing members in contact with the back of the violin and slipping the shoulder rest over the left-hand bottom corner of the instrument up to the point where the finger 3, sliding along the side of the violin and slightly bending outwards during this movement, grip the violin, always without contact with the belly. Or else, the shoulder rest is set on the back of the violin at once in the correct position, with fingers 3 spread outwardly, whereafter the fingers are released into clamping position. The shoulder 3 rest now has a firm hold on the violin and does not slip off the instrument of its own accord. On the other hand, by a positive operation the shoulder rest can as easily be taken off.

Instead of being separate pieces secured to the arcuate strip I, the clamping fingers may be made in one piece with the latter. On the other hand, the bearing members 2 may be separate pieces secured to the arcuate strip, instead of being made integral therewith.

The pad or cushion 6 may be replaced by a band or bag of fabric wound and sewn round the arm-- ate strip I.

I claim:

1. A shoulder rest for violins, comprising a, fiat arcuate strip of a relatively rigid material, raised bearing members in the corners of the transverse ends of said strip, and flexible, resilient clamping fingers located on said transverse ends between the bearing members and adapted to grip the side of the violin at a level above the bottom plate but below the top plate thereof.

2. A shoulder rest for violins, comprising a flat arcuate strip of a relatively rigid material, raised bearing members in the corners of the transverse ends of said strip, and flexible, resilient clamping fingers located on said transverse ends between the bearing members and adapted to grip the side of the violin at a level above the bottom plate but below the top plate thereof, said clamping fingers being separate pieces fixed to said strip.

3. A shoulder rest for violins, comprising a flat arcuate strip of a relatively rigid material, raised bearing members in the corners of the transverse ends of said strip, and flexible, resilient clamping fingers located on said transverse ends between the bearing members and adapted to grip the side of the violin at a level above the bottom plate but below the top plate thereof, said clamping fingers being springy metal bands fixed to said strip.

4. A shoulder rest for violins, comprising a flat arcuate strip of a relatively rigid material, raised bearing members in the corners of the transverse ends of said strip, a cushion removably fixed to the bottom side of said strip, and flexible, resilient clamping fingers located on said transverse ends between the bearing members and adapted to grip the side of the violin.

ERN6 MEIR GOLDBERGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,920,850 Ebert Aug. 1, 1933 2,064,925 Kolitsch Dec. 22, 1936 

